As a new 2nd Lt with the 12th Marines at Mt Fuji, I was assigned to an infantry company as an forward observer. I asked my senior Lts in the battery what should I being doing with the grunts. They told me just to stay close to the Captain and he will let you know what he wants. I stayed with the captain for about 5 miles into a hike when he turned to me and asked “Lt where are we “? My answer was “I don’t know I am following you”. After that I always knew where we were…….
Category: Blog
Scorpion In Your Tent
A man was conducting an All Service member briefing one day, and he posed the question: “What would you do if you found a scorpion in your tent?”
A Sailor said, “I’d step on it.”
A Soldier said, “I’d hit it with my boot.”
A Marine said, “I’d catch it, break the stinger off, and eat it.”
Battle Plans
In deference to a well-known movie actor re-educating his Recon gang, I must step up and clarify his “Gung Ho” phrase of “Adapt, etc.” We have all heard it numerous times, but the best one I ever heard was from our D.I. Sgt. Richardson. He referred to himself as “the meanest SOB you’ll ever meet, if you f-ck up!” He used a simple phrase/law of his called “The Dinosaur Rule”. If you don’t want to become extinct like the dinosaurs, you WILL adapt or you Will die! Battle plans are good until the first round is fired, then throw it out the window and adapt until you win!
Quote of the Week
“My definition, the definition that I’ve always believed in, is that Esprit de Corps means love for one’s own military legion – in my case, the United States Marine Corps. It means more than self-preservation, religion, or patriotism. I’ve also learned that this loyalty to one’s corps travels both ways: up and down.”
-Chesty Puller
USS Ralph Johnson package
The United States Navy commissioned the Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyer, USS Ralph Johnson March 24 in Charleston, South Carolina. The ship is named after Private First Class Ralph H. Johnson who was posthumously awarded the Medal Of Honor in 1968 after diving on a hand grenade to shield two fellow Marines.
Memories of Iwo Jima
On March 26, 1945, Marines secured the island of Iwo Jima after 36 days of combat.
The battle may be over, but the memories live on through these Marines.
Semper Fidelis.
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GUNNER GILBERT H. BOLTON: A MARINE THROUGH AND THROUGH
“The more you sweat in peace the less you bleed in war,” said Silver Star recipient Gilbert H. Bolton during a recent presentation to students of the School of Infantry-West on Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Bolton was born in Portsmouth, Ohio and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1959. He served as an infantry Marine and officer until he retired in 1991 at the age of 50. During his time in the Marine Corps, Bolton rose through the ranks from private to an infantry weapons officer, also known as a Marine Gunner. A Marine Corps Gunner is a technical expert of all Marine Corps weapons systems, and their employment.
Firewatch At NATTC Memphis
The Marine barracks at NATTC Memphis were two story wooden buildings from the WWII era when I went to aviation mechanics school there in 1960. This made it necessary to have a firewatch on duty after lights out for obvious reasons. This duty always fell to the new Privates right out of boot camp, like me. The staff NCO barracks was directly across the street from the MAD headquarters back then. Not only were the barracks dated from the war, but so were the staff NCOs who lived there. These were all old Corps, battle hardened vets who pretty much lived by their own rules. I was unlucky enough to pull the firewatch duty one night for these men. I had learned in Boot camp to keep a low profile in these situations (E-1 vs all ranks above) so my first pass through the barracks before lights out went pretty quiet. When I got to the first deck entryway the Officer of the Day, a young Second Lieutenant, was waiting for me.
Master Sgt. Catherine G. Murray, first female Marine to retire from active service, laid to rest
Master Sgt. Catherine G. Murray, the first enlisted female Marine to retire from the Marine Corps, was laid to rest Tuesday in Arlington National Cemetery.
Murray, born in 1917, first served in motor transport during World War II and remained in active service until her retirement in 1962. She said hearing then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1941 radio broadcast announcing the attack on Pearl Harbor was a pivotal moment in her life.
#MARINE OF THE WEEK // SHOT IN NECK, KEEPS FIGHTING:
#MARINE OF THE WEEK // SHOT IN NECK, KEEPS FIGHTING:
Lance Cpl. Cody Goebel
3rd Battalion, 5th Marines
Sangin, Afghanistan, Nov. 22, 2010
Award: Silver Star
While in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, Lance Cpl. Goebel was manning a security position in the southern Green Zone of Sangin District when he was struck in the neck by enemy small arms fire. Knocked to the ground and severely wounded at his post, he quickly picked himself up, remounted his machine gun, and engaged the enemy’s firing position with full knowledge that his position was critical to his squad’s defense. For seven minutes, he ignored his life threatening wounds and delivered devastating machine gun fire on the enemy’s position, all while refusing medical attention until he was properly relieved. Finally, but only after a fellow squad member had manned his machine gun, Goebel moved 25 meters under his own power and under heavy fire across the observation post’s roof and down a 20-foot ladder to the casualty collection point. Upon reaching the ground, he collapsed due to the loss of blood and had to be carried to a helicopter landing zone for subsequent medical evacuation. His courage, heroism, and dedication to duty after sustaining a life threatening injury resulted in the successful blocking of an enemy attack and six enemy fighters killed. (U.S. Marines photos by Sgt. Timothy Lenzo)